Vegetable slicer



Jan. 26, 1943.

R.-P-. PE VAULT VEGE ABLE SLICER Filed July 29, 19411 RALPH P. DEVAULT,

flTTORNE Y.

Patented Jan. 26, 1943 UNHTED STATES PATET rrics 8 Claims.

My invention relates to a slicer, especially adapted for the slicing ofvegetables, but being also useful for the slicing of food stuffs andother products of a character to be cut by a knife.

It is an object of the invention to provide a slicer having as a featureself-adjustment of the cutting knife, due to the provision of a pivotedcutter having a knife and a guide bar in parallel relation. An especialfeature of the invention is that the cutter and its supporting handleare so formed and related that the cutting action may be carried down tothe surface on which the article to be sliced is supported.

It is an object of the invention to provide a slicer having a pivotedcutter of simple form wherein the cutting edge is at least as low as anyother part of the cutter, so that no other part of the cutter willproject beyond or below the cutting edge, thereby making it possibleduring the cutting operation to bring the knife edge into engagementwith the surface of a cutting board on which the article being sliced issupported during the slicing operation.

It is also an object of the invention to provide for a slicer a cutterhaving at least one end thereof so formed that no metal part at such endwill project below the cutting plane defined by the cutting edge,thereby making it possible to bring e the cutting edge, or at least amajor portion thereof, into contact with the surface of a cutting board.

A further object of the invention is to provide a cutter adapted toslice an article along planes which are diagonally disposed withrelation to the cutting board on which the article to be sliced issupported. The formation of the cutter is such that as each diagonal cutis completed, the cutting edge will pass into engagement with thesurface of the cutting board, thereby severing the completed slice fromthe article from which the slice has been cut.

An object of the invention is to provide a slicer which, due to itspivoted cutter, may be rapidly operated, which will quickly cut slicesdiagonally from the article to be sliced, or which may be employed withfacility to cut slices parallel to the upper face of the cutting boardon which the article to be sliced rests.

A further object of the invention is to provide a slicing cutter and asimple handle in cooperation therewith. the cutter and the handle beingso formed that they may be readily separated, thereby making it possibleto quickly detach the cutter from the handle, and also making possiblthe provision of a set of cutters for slices of diiferent thicknesses,with a single handle by which the cutters may be selectively employed.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be brought out inthe following part of the specification.

Referring to the drawing which is for illustrative purposes only:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a preferred form of my slicer.

Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a manner in which the slicer may beemployed for diagonal cutting.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary section taken on the plane represented by theline 33 of Fig. vl.

Fig. 4 is a sectional View similar to Fig. 3, but with the supportingarm or fork removed.

Fig. 5 is a sectional view similar to Fig. 4, but showing the blade ofthe cutter before grinding. Fig. 6 is a fragmentary sectional viewshowing the manner in which the diagonal cut is made.

Fig. '7 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the position of thecutter for making a slice parallel to a surface.

Fig. 8 is a longitudinally sectioned view showing a form of my slicerwherein the slicing cutter is supported by a handle disposed at one endof the cutter.

Fig. 9 is a sectional view of a cutter having both of its parallel barssharpened.

The preferred embodiment of my invention, as shown in Fig. 1, comprisesa cutter I0 which is preferably stamped as a pair of parallel bars IIand i2 connected by end members l3 which lie in planes which areperpendicular to the plane defined by the members II and I2. One of the'members II or I2 has its inner edge sharpened so as to form a cuttingedge along the slot it which separates the members II and I2. Theremaining bar or member will serve as a guide bar for the knife duringthe cutting operation. It is recognized that both of the members I I andI2 may be sharpened so as to form knife edges, but during the use of onemember I I or I2 for a cutting operation, the remaining member serves asa guide bar to ride ahead of the cutting edge upon the surface of thearticle which is being sliced.

As shown in Fig. 4, each end member I3 has a hole I6 disposed betweenthe cutting edge l5 of the knife II and the inner edge of the guide barI 2. This hole, however, is closer to the knife edge I5 than to theinner edge of the bar I2. A handle I! is provided having forks IS, theends I9 of which curve downwardly and at their extremities have pivotpins 20 which project outwardly through the openings E6 in the endmembers I3 of the cutter I0. The handle I! may be bent from flat metalstock to the form shown. The forks I8 have sufficient flexibility thatthey may be deflected toward each other from the position in which theyare shown in Fig. 1, so as to disengage the pivot pins 28 from theopenings I 6. It is, therefore, possible to conveniently disengage thecutter I0 from the handle I7, and in the practice of my invention I mayprovide several cutters I0 having slots M of different sizes and bladesand guide bars H and I2 arranged to cut slices of different thicknesses.For example, a set of three cutters might be provided ranging in sizefrom to ft, or larger as may be found desirable.

From Fig. 4, it will be noted that the knife ii and the guide bar l2 aredisposed in planes arranged angularly to each other, in the generalarrangement of a wide-angled V form. Likewise, the lower edges of themember l3 lie in the planes defined by the lower faces of the knife H ofthe guide bar [2. In view of this, the lower edge of each end member 13has a corner or sharp bend 2| disposed in such position that the opening[6 lies between the cutting edge l and this corner 2|, and between thecorner 21 and the cutting edge 15 the end member [3 has a flattenedportion 22, lying in a plane with the lower face of the knife ll.Accordingly, if the cutter ID, as shown in Fig. 3, is moved intoengagement with a flat surface 23, the point of application of pressurethrough the pivot pins to the end members 13, lying between theshoulders 2| of the end members 13 and the outer edge of the knife II,will result in the rotation of the cutter 19 so as to bring the knifeedge [5 into engagement with the surface 23, so that the cutting planeof the knife H will coincide with the surface 23. It will be noted thatno portion of the cutter in projects beyond (or below) the cutting planeof the knife II, which cutting plane is represented by the surface 23.

The formation of the cutter IE! contributes to ease in grinding theknife ll so as to provide a sharp cutting edge. Since no portion of thecutter projects below the cutting plane, as explained in the foregoingparagraph, the cutters lll may be moved consecutively and continuouslyacross a grinding wheel, so that the grinding operation will extend fromend to end of the cutter, without the necessity of starting the grindingat a point spaced from one end of the cutter and then discontinuing thegrinding operation before the other end of the cutter is reached. Thecutter Ill, prior to the sharpening thereof, has the appearance shown inFig. 5. The knife H has a cross sectional area comprising a relativelyflat rectangle. In the grinding operation all metal lying below theplane G-G is removed, thereby changing the form of the cutter II fromrectangular cross-section to triangular cross-section and forming thecutting edge l5 shown in Fig. 4. Also, it will be noted that thisgrinding operation removes that portion 24 of each end member l3 lyingbelow the plane G-G.

The slicer is adapted for different types of slicing operations, and isso constructed that these slicing operations may be conducted with easeand relative speed. In Fig. 2 I show one manner in which the slicer maybe employed in conjunction with a cutting board 25 to diagonally cutslices 25 from an article or articles. In the present instance, a numberof string beans 21 are shown upon the upper surface of the cutting board25, with the cutter ID of the slicer at the start of a out. If thearticle to be cut is held with one hand upon the upper surface of thecutting board 25, the cutting operation by use of the slicer may bestarted at one end of the article, and diagonal slices may be cutprogres sively therefrom. When the cutter It! travels rightward from theposition in which it is shown in Fig. 2, it will move diagonallydownward until the cutter 10 engages the upper surface of the cuttingboard 25, and as the end of the cut is reached, the cutter It) willautomatically adjust itself into such position, as shown in Fig. 6, thatthe knife edge [5 will engage the upper surface of the cutting board,and in so doing will pass out of cutting engagement with the articlefrom which the slices are being cut.

In the fragmentary view, Fig. '7, the cutter I0 is shown positioned forthe start of a slicing cut parallel to the surface 28 of an article 29.When force is applied'to move the cutter l0 rightward from the positionin which it is shown in Fig. '7, the knife M will follow the dotted line30 and remove a slice having the thickness which is characteristic ofthe cutter l0 employed.

A feature of the invention is to provide a slicer so formed that itspivoted cutter may be brought into engagement with a flat surface, suchas the surface of a cutting board, and to carry out this conception itis only necessary that one of the end members Id of the cutter be soformed that it will not project below the cutting plane of the knife.This condition is true for the reason that one end of the cutter may beallowed to project over the edge of the cutting board. For example, inFig. 8 I show a cutter identified by the numeral it, for the reason thatit is so formed that a handle 32 may be connected to one end thereof,but has the characteristics described relative to the cutter It in thatthe cutting edge 15, its knife l I, and its guide bar !2' are so formedrelative to the end members 13a and. i322 that the cutting edge 15 maybe brought into engagement with the surface 33 of a cutting board 34.When the slicer, shown in Fig. 8, is employed, it may at times assume aposition wherein a portion of its knife 1 I projects over the edge 35 ofthe cutting board The and member I3!) is formed so as to provide a tube33 in which the end of a shaft 3'! is secured, this shaft 31 beingturnably supported by the handle 32, whereby adjusting rotation of thecutter if) is permitted.

In Fig. 9 I shou a cross-section of cutter 19b having bars Nb and I21),both of which are sharpened so as to provide cutting edges. In this formof the invention it is preferable to place the pivot opening I61)equidistant from the bars I lb and I22). In this cutter the end member[3b is so formed that no portion thereof projects below the cuttingplane of the cutter. In the operation of this cutter, either one of thebars may be employed as a knife, while the remm'ning bar rides ahead andserves as a gauge or guide.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a hand operated slicer of the character described, the combinationof: a handle; a slicing cutter comprising a pair of coextensive bars andend members connecting adjacent ends of said bars to hold the same insuch relation that at least one of the bars may have its inner edgesharpened so that it will serve as a knife while the remaining barserves as a guide to move ahead of said knife during a slicingoperation, said end members being so formed that no portion thereofprojects below the cutting plane of the cutter; a pair of spaced armsextending from said handle to points contiguous to said end members andwith the extremities thereof formed so that no portion thereof projectsbelow the cutting plane of the cutter; and means pivotally connectingsaid end members and said arms so that said cutter may have adjustingrotation relative to said handle on an axis substantially parallel andclose to said knife.

2. In a hand operated slicer of the character described, the combinationof: a handle; a slicing cutter comprising a pair of coextensive bars andend members connecting adjacent ends of said bars to hold the same insuch relation that at least one of the bars may have its inner edgesharpened so that it will serve as a knife while the remaining barserves as a guide to move ahead of said knife during a slicingoperation, and said end members being so formed that no portion thereofprojects below the cutting plane of the cutter; and means pivotallyconnecting said cutter and said handle so that said cutter may haveadjusting rotation relative to said handle on an axis parallel and closeto said knife said means comprising a support extending from said handleto said cutter, the extremity of said support engaging at least one ofsaid end mem-- bers and said extremity being positioned so that noportion thereof projects below the cutting plane of said cutter.

3. In a hand operated slicer of the character described, the combinationof a handle; a slicing cutter comprising a pair of coextensive bars andend members connecting adjacent ends of said bars to hold the same insuch relation that at least one of the bars may have its inner edgesharpened so that it will serve as a knife while the remaining barserves as a guide to move ahead of said knife during a slicingoperation, said end members each being so formed as to provide adownwardly faced shoulder spaced from said knife in the direction ofsaid guide and so that no portion thereof projects below the cuttingplane of the cutter; and means pivotally connecting said cutter and saidhandle so that said cutter may have adjusting rotation relative to saidhandle on an axis substantially parallel and close to said knife andoffset from said shoulder in the direction of said knife.

4. In a hand operated slicer of the character described, the combinationof: a handle; a slicing cutter comprising a pair of coextensive bars andend members connecting adjacent ends of said bars to hold the same insuch relation that at least one of the bars may have its inner edgesharpened so that it will serve as a knife While the remaining barserves as a guide to move ahead of said knife during a slicingoperation, at least one of said end members being so formed as toprovide a downwardly faced shoulder spaced from said knife in thedirection of said guide and so that no portion thereof projects belowthe cutting plane of the cutter; and means pivotally connecting saidcutter and said handle so that said cutter may have adjusting rotationrelative to said handle on an axis substantially parallel and close tosaid knife and offset from said shoulder in the direction of said knife.

5. In a hand operated slicer of the character described, the combinationof: a handle having a pair of spaced arms supported for relativemovement toward and away from each other; a slicing cutter comprising apair of coextensive bars and end members connecting adjacent ends ofsaid bars to hold the same in such relation that at least one of thebars may have its inner edge sharpened so that it will serve as a knifeWhile the remaining bar serves as a guide to move ahead of said knifeduring a slicing operation, at least one of said end members being soformed as to provide a downwardly faced shoulder spaced from said knifein the direction of said guide and sothat no portion thereof projectsbelow the cutting plane of the cutter; and means engageable anddisengageable by said relative movement of said supporting armspivotally connecting said end members and said supporting arms so thatsaid cutter may have adjusting rotation relative to said handle on anaxis substantially parallel and close to said knife and offset from saidshoulder in the direction of said knife.

6. In a hand operated slicer of the character described, the combinationof a handle having a pair of spaced arms supported for relative movementtoward and away from each other; a slicing cutter comprising a pair ofcoextensive bars and end members connecting adjacent ends of said barsto hold the same in such relation that at least one of the bars may haveits inner edge sharpened so that it will serve as a knife While theremaining bar serves as a guide to move ahead of said knife during aslicing operation, at least one of said end members being so formed asto provide a downwardly faced shoulder spaced from said knife in thedirection of said guide and so that no portion thereof projects belowthe cutting plane of the cutter; and means pivotally connecting saidcutter and said handle so that said cutter may have adjusting rotationrelative to said handle on an axis substantially parallel and close tosaid knife and offset from said shoulder in the direction of said knife,said means comprising trunnions projecting outward from said arms intoengagement with said end members.

'7. In a hand operated slicer of the character described, thecombination of: a handle having cutter supporting means; and acomplement of slicing cutters comprising a plurality of cutter members,each adapted to cut a slice having a thickness different from thethickness of the slice cut by another of said cutters, interchangeablypivotally connectible to said cutter supporting means, each of saidcutter members comprising a pair of coextensive bars and end membersconnecting adjacent ends of said bars to hold the same in such relationthat at least one of the bars may have its inner edge sharpened so thatit will serve as a knife while the remaining bar serves as a guide tomove ahead of said knife during a slicing operation, at least one ofsaid end members being so formed that no portion thereof projects belowthe cutting plane of the cutter.

8. 'In a hand operated slicer of the character described, thecombination of: a handle having spaced inwardly yieldable supportingarms; a slicing cutter comprising a pair of coextensive bars and endmembers connecting adjacent ends of said bars to hold the same in suchrelation that at least one of the bars may have itsinner edge sharpenedso that it will serve as a knife while the remaining bar serves as aguide to move ahead of said knife during a slicing operation, said endmembers consisting of walls extending at right angles to said bars andhaving openings between said bars, said end members being so formed thatno portion thereof projects below the cutting plane of the cutter; andtrumiions projecting outwardly from said supporting arms into saidopenings.

RALPH P. DE VAULT.

